Prison term upheld for fisherman who attacked Coast Guards at sea

TDT | Manama

An Asian fisherman, who was earlier jailed for attacking a Coast Guard patrol boat at sea, had his appeal rejected by the First Supreme Criminal Court of Appeal, which yesterday upheld the three-year sentence and BD60 fine issued against him.

The man was earlier sentenced by the First High Criminal Court last December and the court also ordered him to be deported and blacklisted from re-entering the Kingdom. The appellant reportedly rammed his boat into a Coast Guard boat last July.

It occurred after he was asked to stop for inspection. The collision caused several injuries to one of the policemen on board after he fell inside the boat. The man, who was accompanied by another fisherman of the same nationality, fell into the water and was rescued by the same patrol.

Court files showed that the incident took place at night on July 22 last year when the patrol detected the fisherman and his companion using an illegal fishing method – trawling, which is known locally as “Karaf”.

The cops told interrogators that the man was also sailing without switching on the lights of his boat, violating a mandatory precautionary procedure that aims at preventing collisions at sea. According to the policemen’s statements, the defendant cut the nets and attempted to escape when he was asked to stop.

The policemen in the patrol that saved and arrested the man also stated that he collided with the patrol boat and injured one of the policemen on board. The medical report mentioned that the policeman suffered multiple injuries and is unable to do his work and care for personal needs for more than 20 days due to the injuries sustained.

A total of 30kg of illegally caught shrimp was found on the appellant’s boat. On the same day, the man was interrogated and charged by the Public Prosecution for assaulting on-duty law enforcement while performing their duties and damaging the property of Interior Ministry, in reference to the patrol boat.